Osprey fortress 078 the german fortress of metz 1870 1944

The German improvements to the French forts included the addition of a wire entanglement around the works, a spiked palisade on top of the counterscarp wall and at the base of the escarp

FORTRESS OF METZ1870-1944

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATORCLAYTON DONNELLhas had a life-long fascination with Europeanfortifications He spent his early years living in Switzerland and Belgium, andoften visited the nearby castles and forts While living in Germany in the late1980s, he studied and visited the Moselstellung forts of Metz and Thionville.Over the years he has amassed a large collection of material relating to thisperiod, and has translated much of it from French to English He has previouslywritten Fortress 60: The Fortsofthe Meuse in World War I(Osprey, 2006)co-writtenModern European Military Fortifications, 7870-7950: A Selected Annotated Bibliography(Praeger, 2004) and has created websites on theforts of Liege and Namur, as well as the Maginot Line.

BRIAN DELF began his career working in a London art studio producingartwork for advertising and commercial publications Since 1972, he hasworked as a freelance illustrator on a variety of subjects including naturalhistory, architecture and technical cutaways His illustrations have beenpublished in over thirty countries Brian lives and works in Oxfordshire

FORTRESS • 78

THE GERMAN

FORTRESS OF METZ

1870-1944

Series editorsMarcus Cowper and Nikolai Bogdanovic

Midland House, West Way, Botley, Oxford, OX2 OPH, UK

443 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016, USA

E-mail: info@ospreypublishing.com

© 2008 Osprey Publishing Limited

All rights reserved Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private

study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright,

Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form

or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical,

photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission

of the copyright owner Enquiries should be addressed to the Publishers.

ISBN 978 184603 302 5

Editorial by lIios Publishing, Oxford, UK (www.iliospublishing.com)

Cartography: Map Studio Ltd, Romsey, UK

Design: Ken Vail Graphic Design, Cambridge, UK (kvgd.com)

Typeset in Sabon and Myriad Pro

Index by Alan Rutter

Originated by PPS Grasmere Ltd, Leeds, UK

Printed and bound in China through Bookbuilders

08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

FOR A CATALOGUE OF ALL BOOKS PUBLISHED BY OSPREY MILITARY

AND AVIATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Osprey Direct, c/o Random House Distribution Center, 400 Hahn Road,

de Vincennes in Paris, to Thierry Simon and to the Governor-General of the Army of Metz for helping me with access to the archives and to the forts of Metz Once again, to my travelling companions Dan, Mark and Gavin for their company and their superb photographs To Franc;ois Hoff for his hospitality, for his excellent counsel, for his time at Metz and for the photographs he provided to me To Marc Romanych, whom I can't thank enough, for his help with the manuscript and for the countless hours he spent helping me with photographs To Raymond Decker of the ADFM, for taking an entire weekend to guide me through the forts of Metz, and for his passion for the fortifications Finally to my good friend Jean Pascal Speck- without whom this project would not have been possible - for his help in setting up the logistics of the visits, for his hospitality that is second to none and for things I probably have no idea of that contributed to this book.

ARTIST'S NOTE

Readers may care to note that the original paintings from which the color plates in this book were prepared are available for private sale All reproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by the Publishers All enquiries should be addressed to:

Brian Delf, 7 Burcot Park, Burcot, Abingdon OX14 3DH, UK The Publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matter.

THE FORTRESS STUDY GROUP(FSG)

The object of the FSG is to advance the education of the public in the study

of all aspects of fortifications and their armaments, especially works constructed to mount or resist artillery The FSG holds an annual conference in September over a long weekend with visits and evening lectures, an annual tour abroad lasting about eight days, and an annual Members'Day.

The FSG journal,FORT, is published annually, and its newsletter, Casemate,

is published three times a year Membership is international For further details, please contact:

The Secretary, c/o 6 Lanark Place, London W9 1BS, UK Web site: www.fsgfort.com

THE WOODLAND TRUST

Osprey Publishing are supporting the Woodland Trust, the UK's leading woodland conservation charity, by funding the dedication of trees.

INTRODUCTION

CHRONOLOGY

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

First period construction • Second period construction • Third period construction • Infantry works Interval batteries The positions during World War I • Principal features of the defence

TOUR OF THE SITES

Infantry works Barracks Tunnels Armoured batteries

PRINCIPLES OF DEFENCE

Metz • Thionville • Armoured batteries • The Festen

THE LIVING SITES

THE SITES AT WAR

World War I and the interwar years World War II

THE GERMAN FORTRESS

OF METZ 1870-1944

INTRODUCTION

Caserne 7 of Feste Kaiserin

in pristine condition in 1919.

The structure in the foreground

is the central caponier that

defended the gorge ditch.

(National Archives and

Record Administration)

After the Allied breakout from Normandy in July 1944, Lieutenant-GeneralGeorge Patton's Third Army advanced swiftly east across the Frenchcountryside Its strategic objective was to advance through the West Wall,Hitler's answer to the Maginot Line, to the Rhine River

In September, XX Corps approached the German fortress of Metz.American forces knew very little about the German position at Metz, inparticular the forts that encircled the city or a smaller ring of forts thatsurrounded the city of Thionville, some 32km to the north The Americanhigh command, including Patton, his staff and commanders, did not considerthe fortress of Metz to be a serious obstacle to their drive into Germany

On 8 September, the American 5th Infantry Division established abridgehead on the east bank of the Moselle opposite the small village of Dornot

to the south of Metz On two small hills above the crossing point sat theGroupe Fortifie Verdun, composed of forts Sommy and St Blaise The twoforts were abandoned but companies F and G, 2nd Battalion, 11 th InfantryRegiment, reached the barbed wire surrounding the fort, before pulling backwhen they received faulty intelligence the forts were occupied On the oppositeside of the hills on which the forts sat, the 2.Bataillon, 37.SS-Panzergrenadier

Regiment, began to move around the hills on the north and south to attack the

flanks and surround the two companies This serious threat, plus unrelenting

German counterattacks and artillery bombardment, forced the Americans to

fall back towards the Moselle River where they dug a quick defensive line in

the horseshoe-shaped woods along the river

In the meantime, the long-range guns of Feste Kronprinz (known to the

Americans as Fort Driant), located about three kilometres to the north-west

of Dornot, above Ars-sur-Moselle, began to fire on the 7th Armored Division

units waiting to cross the river Troops pinned down in the Dornot bridgehead

were finally withdrawn to the west bank and a second crossing was forced a

few kilometres farther south at Arnaville The troops of the 5th Infantry

Division managed to establish a bridgehead on the east bank, but fire from

Fort Driant's heavy artillery continually harassed engineers attempting to

build a bridge at Arnaville on which to bring across the armour

Major-General Walker, commander of XX Corps, ordered a general attack against

the western and south-western defences of Metz, including an attempt to

expand and break out of the Arnaville bridgehead In the ensuing days,

German defenders manning the fortress defences repulsed American attacks

and the fort's guns kept up a steady fire

On23September, the offensive at Metz ground to a halt, partly because of

the stubborn German defence and also because the emphasis of the Allied

strategy had shifted north to Belgium and Holland Patton was permitted to

continue 'local attacks', but not to make any move to encircle Metz

Major-General Walker decided to launch an assault to capture Fort Driant, which

would help to open up the southern flank An attack was launched in late

September After nearly two weeks of fighting, and with considerable casualties,

the attack was called off and XX Corps paused to regroup Fort Driant

remained in German hands The offensive resumed in early November and the

city of Metz was finally encircled in late November, ending the battle, though

some of the forts held out until mid-December What was supposed to be a

quick operation begun in September lasted more than two months

Feste Kronprinz was built after the city of Metz became part of the German

Empire The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine were the spoils of the

Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71 The Metz position, along with fortifications around

The barracks of Fort St Blaise of Feste Graf-Haeseler The family crest of that family is above the entrance The fa<;ade is

of yellow stone, the original material used in construction.

To the right is a chimney for the heating stoves This was heavily damaged in 1944 (National Archives and Record Administration)

5

The elaborate portal entrance

to Feste Kronprinz (Fort Driant).

(Author's collection)

An oval-shaped tunnel at Feste

Guentrange (Mark Bennett)

Thionville to the north, would form a 40km-Iongstrongpoint, anchored by the Moselle River andknown as the Moselstellung It was planned as

an integral part of Graf von Schlieffen's strategy

to attack France through Belgium and encircleFrench forces from the west, using Metz as apivot point for the armies

The Moselstellung included 11 hugeFestenorfortress groups, 16 smaller infantry strongpoints,detached gun batteries and hundreds of smallbunkers built among the hills and ridgessurrounding the cities of Metz and Thionville(known as Diedenhofen in German) The fortresswas developed over a 45-year period from 1871

to 1916 and evolved from traditional century polygonal forts with open gun batteries

19th-to a series of fortified groups with separatedcombat elements dispersed among and blendinginto the surrounding terrain (a precursor to WorldWar II era fortifications like the Maginot Line)

defend against an enemy assault as well as guns

in steel turrets embedded in armoured batteries.The troops were defended from bombardment by concrete shelters Thewhole position was surrounded by barbed-wire entanglements, ditchesdefended by machine guns and rapid-fire guns, all under the watch of sentries

in armoured shelters Underground tunnels connected each position Electriclighting illuminated the interior and the troops had fresh water, ventilatedair, heat, good food and clean sanitary facilities

The concept was truly unique When tested by the American forces in

1944, those defences that were attacked, from Fort Driant to the smallestbunker, held out against overwhelming force 'And by that stage they wereonly a shadow of what they were intended to be

1864 In response to increasing tensions with belligerent and

powerful Prussia, the French high command decides tomodernize the fortress of Metz

1870 - 4-6 August After months of increasing tension, France launches an

attack on German forces assembling near Saarbrucken

French forces are defeated at the battles of SpicherenHeights and Worth and withdraw into France

1870 -16 August German forces outflank Marshal Bazaine's troops west

of Metz as they attempt to march towards Verdun to join

up with other French forces After the battle of Gravelotte(18 August) French forces withdraw into the fortress of Metz

1870 - 27 October The two-month German siege of Metz ends Marshal Bazaine

surrenders his 160,000 troops

1871 - 10 May The Treaty of Frankfurt formally ends the war with a

German victory A majority of the French province ofLorraine is annexed to the new German Empire undertheformer~Kingof Prussia, now Kaiser WilhelmI

1871-96 Because of improvements in artillery technology the fortress

of Metz is modernized and expanded by the Germans

The axis of defence shifts to face the new French bordersouth and west of Metz

1896-1916 To support a German offensive strategy, a massive

fortress-building campaign is undertaken at Metz and Thionville tocreate the Moselstellung or 'Moselle Position' A new system

of fortifications known asBefestigungsgruppe,orFesten,areconstructed and modified over a lO-year period

1914-18 The Moselstellung is not attacked and the forts around Metz

sit out World War I, encountering only sporadic fire fromFrench and American artillery

1918 - November The end of World WarI.In the ensuing Treaty of Versailles,

Alsace and Lorraine return to French control

1919-29 French engineers study the German fortification system and

use many of its engineering design concepts in the MaginotLine Several of theFestenare incorporated as secondarydefences or command posts into the Maginot Line's mainfortress line

1940 - May-June Germany attacks and conquers France in a lightning campaign

1940-44 The forts of Metz serve as munitions depots and underground

factories, barracks and training areas Much of the equipment

is removed and transferred to the Atlantic Wall and the Ruhrindustrial region

1944 - September Patton's Third Army approaches Metz German forces in the

area occupy the forts and put up a stubborn defence

·7

1944 - 27 September American forces are defeated in the battle of Fort Driant

1944 - December

November-1953-67

The Americans resume their offensive and encircle Metz.The forts surrender one by one Fort Jeanne d'Arc, the lastholdout, falls on 13 December

Canadian NATO forces operate out of thegroupes fortifies

Marne and Jeanne d'Arc

The barracks below the artillery

ramparts of Fort Manstein

Feste Prinz Friedrich Karl

-Mont St Quentin The gun

parapets are visible on the

rampart In between are

munitions and infantry shelters.

(National Archives and Record

Administration)

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Beginning in the 1850s, revolutionary changes took place in the science ofartillery that resulted in an equivalent revolution in fortress engineering In

1857, Prussia built the first artillery piece with a rifled barrel Rifling, or theetching of spiral grooves on the inside of the barrel, caused the shell to spin

as it left the tube, improving its aim, trajectory and range Artillery fire couldnow reach the centre of a city from much greater distances than previouslypossible Fortress rings built to defend cities from attack and to strike atenemy artillery batteries in the distance, had to be moved further and furtherout from the city, increasing the size of the perimeter and the number of forts

In 1870 the Prussians designed new types of fuses that could be adjusted tocause projectiles to explode at a calculated time, ideally over the heads of thedefenders exposed on fort parapets Without overhead protection men andartillery could be easily killed and destroyed by artillery fire In a short period

of time, existing permanent fortifications became obsolete and offered noprotection for men or artillery

The development that most radically changed fortress engineering was

the 'torpedo shell crisis', or crise de l' obits torpille, of 1885, named for thetorpedo or bullet shape of the new artillery shells Not only was range andaccuracy improved, but more explosive could be packed into the longerprojectile, increasing penetrative and destructive power ~ronzeshell casingswere replaced with steel Black powder was replaced with melinite, a new,highly explosive and volatile substance that caused significantly more damage

to the structures of a fort High-explosive projectiles were fitted with delayfuses that enabled them to penetrate up to three metres of earth and explode

on the masonry vaulting underneath

Europe's military engineers undertook a number of studies and trials and

concluded that concrete shelters and steel gun turrets afforded the best type of

protection against high-explosive shells In 1867 the French Army placed

General Raymond Adolphe Sere de Rivieres in charge of the construction of

eight modern, detached forts around Metz Major elements of these forts

included a bastioned trace with infantry parapets to defend approaches to the

fort, a protective ditch and a central cavalier for long-range artillery The fall

of Metz to the Germans in1870and its later annexation provided the German

military with an experimental ground for developing new fortress concepts

At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in August1870,only four of

the Metz forts were completed - forts St Julien, Queuleu, Diou and Plappeville

Two earlier forts that belonged to the original enceinte, Bellecroix and Moselle

(renamed Steinmetz and Voigts-Rhetz), were upgraded with the addition of

artillery cavaliers and casemated batteries Construction had just begun on

three other forts - des Bordes due east of Metz, St Privat to the south-west,

and St Eloi to the north, which, after the outbreak of war served as intermediate

gun batteries

German fortress engineers built the Moselstellung in three major periods

of construction:

The first period (1871-81) saw the improvement of the ex-French forts

and the addition of new forts and intermediate batteries

The second period (1885-99) saw the reinforcement of the existing

forts with concrete, and construction of the first armoured batteries and

interval shelters

The third period (1899-1916) saw the development of the western and

southern flanks with the addition of the newPestedesign

The left bank (see map of the Moselstellung on page 27 for location)

Location on map Original French German name after Dates of German French name after

Tignomont/Schwerin

Karl/Ostfort*

The right bank

Wurtemberg

*These two forts, technically a prototype of the firstFesten,were joined to form the Feste Prinz Friedrich

Karl (See glossary for terminology)

9

of Feste Kaiserin The fa<;ade is

constructed in concrete and is

most likely a reinforcement of

the original stone A caponier

with rifle embrasures defends

the gorge ditch A spiked fence

and wire entanglement

surrounds the battery.

(National Archives and

Record Administration)

First period construction

Unfortunately, the construction records of the German forts at Metz are lost;however, by examining the forts themselves, along with detailed records of theconstruction of the other European systems, some conclusions can be drawn.The Metz forts were constructed similarly to the forts built by General HenriBrialmont from 1889 to 1891 at Liege and Namur, Belgium The earth wasexcavated, the combat elements were built and then covered over, and theterrain sculpted to military requirements To build the concrete structures,wooden forms were used to build a shell for the footings, walls and ceilings,into which layers of concrete were poured An examination of an unplasteredwall in the sub-floor of the counterscarp coffer at Feste Luitpold shows how theconcrete was poured in successive layers inside the wooden forms, a commontechnique used at the time A wall in the flanking casemate of Feste Wagner thathoused two 7.7cm guns, bombed by the US in 1944, is cracked at the jointwhere two layers of concrete were poured and where they perhaps did notjoin together properly Once the concrete was poured and the walls finishedwith plaster and paint, the finishing pieces were added, such as windows,doors, embrasures, ventilation ducts, equipment, etc Once the buildings werecompleted the landscape was smoothed over and banked for protective andmasking purposes and the parapets and ditches formed Finally, the palisadesand wire entanglements were added Photos of the construction at FesteGuentrange show a tramway system used to haul materials from the valleybelow A similar system was used at Metz along with small railway lines forsteam locomotives and wagons There are some indications that labour was

locally procured General Denis records in La garnison de Metz 187011919,

that, on 12 April 1872, 1,300 workers were hired for construction at FesteGoeben In 1889, 3,000 workers were hired from the mines of Saarbrucken to

work at Metz The budget for construction of the Festen was 50 million marks

per year (400 million pounds sterling in today's currency), approximately

12 to 20 million per fort (100 million pounds sterling each in today's currency)

Second period construction

The forts the Germans inherited from the French were built of brick andstone, with minimal protection for personnel The Germans spent the firstfew years improving the French forts and constructing new ones in the samestyle as other German systems throughout the empire - polygonal works with

a bastioned trace, caponiers to defend the ditch plus open-air artillery and

infantry parapets on the ramparts Brick and stone was also used to build

these forts The German improvements to the French forts included the

addition of a wire entanglement around the works, a spiked palisade on top

of the counterscarp wall and at the base of the escarp, infantry positions on

the parapets, and interval batteries to augment long-range artillery capability

The artillery crisis of1885forced the fortification engineers to modify the

materials and organization of the defences to provide additional protection

against heavy artillery This marked the beginning of the second period of the

development of the Moselstellung (1885-99) Concrete and metal replaced

earth and stone Concrete, a mix of Portland cement with stones, sand and

water, was strong enough to resist the penetration of the high-explosive shells

In 1887, the Germans began to reinforce the masonry walls of the existing

forts Engineers experimented with a variety of combinations and thickness of

regular concrete, sand and reinforced concrete After1914,reinforced concrete

was used in all construction It is possible to see the different stages of

development in the various forts around Metz Some of the buildings still have

the original yellow stone fac;ades At others, the top half of the barracks is in

yellow stone with window openings while the lower half is faced in about one

metre of concrete

A number of other improvements were made after the artillery crisis

Caponiers defending the ditch were replaced by counterscarp casemates

and metal armoured observation cupolas

were installed Additional open-air artillery

batteries were built in the intervals A

number of bombproof shelters were built

around the interval batteries There were

two types: infantry shelters (I-Raume) and

artillery shelters (A-Raume) for the men,

and munitions shelters (M-Raume) grouped

near permanent or field artillery batteries

There were 31 A-Raume, 32 M-Raume and

28 I-Raumein the first line of defence

The most significant addition during the

second period was armour plating Major

Schumann, one of Prussia's most prominent

military engineers, who conducted numerous

studies on fortress artillery, was the first to

The 21 cm armoured battery between the Ostfort (Fort Diou) and Manstein, Feste Prinz Friedrich Karl This is one

of the first turreted interval batteries built at Metz in 1890.

An observation cupola is visible in the background (National Archives and Record Administration)

This photograph shows one of the first barracks designs built

in theFesten.The fac;ade was built of yellow stone common

to the area In some of the forts the stone was covered over by a layer of concrete Final designs were built entirely of concrete This is Barracks 3 of Feste Kaiserin (Author's collection)

11

ABOVE LEFT

A 10cm long-barrelled gun in

an armoured turret The two

visors allowed direct vision

from inside the turret The

bulge allowed the gun to be

elevated to a negative angle of

-5 degrees to fire at close

range (Author's collection)

ABOVE RIGHT

Early German plan of a 15cm

howitzer These were placed in

the armoured interval batteries

constructed after 1895 and later

in the batteries of theFesten.

Their mission was to strike at

lines of communication and

troops and equipment hidden

behind protective cover or in

ravines and defiles, where they

could not be reached by direct

fire (Association pour la

Decouverte de la Fortification

Messine)

argue in favour of armour-plated gun carriages in revolving, steel-plated turrets

to protect the gun and its crew Schumann joined the Gruson Works inMagdeburg, Germany, in the development of revolving armoured turrets In

1873, he invented a hydraulic gun carriage for a 15cm gun that reduced the gun'srecoil, improved the function of aiming, and created a minimal embrasure

In 1879 two experimental cast-iron cupolas designed by Schumann, each withtwo guns, were installed at Fort Kameke, three kilometres north-east of FortAlvensleben Tests were performed in Romania on a variety of armoured turretmodels Engineers concluded that a gun turret with two guns didn't work as well

as a single gun, since the one gun firing threw the other gun off it's aim point.Schumann proposed large forts with dozens of turrets Schuman's contemporary,Chief of Bavarian Artillery, General von Sauer, who also conducted manyartillery studies, rejected the notion of a large fort, and proposed the organization

of smaller, dispersed armoured works that would be less vulnerable to enemyartillery bombardment Eventually, this concept of dispersal became a majorfeature of the third period of development (1899-1916)

Beginning in 1890, the first armoured batteries equipped with steel,revolving turrets were built throughout the Metz fortress line From 1890 to

1893 two experimental batteries, each with two 21cm howitzer turrets, wereconstructed, one on the Mont St Quentin plateau, and one between fortsKameke and Alvensleben (Chene West)

Afterwards, engineers came up with a standard battery that would later

be incorporated into the Festen on a larger scale From 1895 to 1897, the

following 15cm armoured howitzer batteries were built (each battery withtwo single gun turrets):

Location on map (page 27)

Adjacent to Fort Alvensleben

Between forts Kameke and Alvensleben

Between forts Zastrow and Goeben Between forts Von Goeben and Prinz August von Wurtemberg

These batteries were the final works of the second period.

Third period construction

By the end of the 19th century, significant work had been accomplished over

the preceding years to improve the Metz forts The perimeter of the forts

surrounding Metz was 24km long and an average of four kilometres from the

centre of the city, with 26 armoured turrets However, the adequacy of the

protection of the city provided by these forts was short lived The increase in

the range of artillery to ten kilometres made this line obsolete An invading

French force could place powerful long-range artillery on the undefended

heights of the Moselle River nine kilometres to the west and range both the

forts and the city without fear of counter-battery fire In 1896, recognizing the

potential threat, Wilhelm II proposed the installation of armoured batteries

on these heights and in 1899 construction began on four new forts, to be

called Festen, three on the left bank (Feste Lothringen, Feste Kaiserin and

Feste Kronprinz), and one on the right bank on the heights of Sommy/

St Blaise, the Feste Graf Haeseler In 1902, the Governor-General of Metz

requested three new Festen be added to the southern flank - Feste Wagner,

Feste Luitpold and Feste Von der Goltz - to augment the defensive strength

of the position Construction began on Feste Wagner in 1904 In 1907, an

eighth, Feste Leipzig, was added between Lothringen and Kaiserin to bolster

the western salient

The Festen - Befestigungsgruppe - Groupes fortifies (GF)

Location on map (page 27) German name French name Year built

Feste Kaiserin GF Jeanne d'Arc 1899-1905 Feste Kronprinz GF Driant 1899-1905

Feste Prinz Regent

Luitpold Feste Von der Goltz GF Marne 1907-16

Infantry works

In 1905, construction began on smaller infantry works in the intervals between

the Festen These included the St Anne Works to the right of Feste Lothringen;

the Wolfsberg (Kellerman) Works; and the St Vincent, Leipzig and Moscou

positions between Feste Lothringen and Feste Kaiserin To further strengthen

the western defences, several new infantry strongpoints were proposed in

advance of Feste Lothringen - Feves, Horimont I, II, III, the Amanvillers

Quarry and the Vemont Position All would include ditches, flanking casemates

and personnel shelters, and be surrounded by wire Portions of the Feves

and Horimont works were not finished Finally, seven infantry works and

strongpoints were built between Feste Kaiserin and Kronprinz - St Hubert,

Jussy Norden and Sliden, Bois La Dame, Vaux Norden and Sliden, and

Marival Four infantry positions were added on the right bank in 1907

-Infanterie-Werk Chesny Norden and Sliden to the north of Feste Wagner and

13

A 15cm Schirmlafette

(protected gun carriage)

cannon being moved by steam

tractor This type of gun was

used in permanent batteries

built along the east front of the

Metz position While the gun

positions were permanent, the

guns could be moved where

needed by rail or along the

roads on vehicles such as the

one in the photo (Association

pour la Decouverte de la

Fortification Messine)

Feste Luitpold; Werk Belle-Croix due east of Metz; and Werk Mey to the north-east In 1909 two infantry works were built in theinterval of Lothringen and Kaiserin, the strongpoints of La Folie and Leipzig.These were connected together to form Feste Leipzig (more of an infantry workthan aFeste,except for the inclusion of an armoured battery)

Infanterie-Infantry work -Infanterie-Werk (I-Werk) - Principal Ouvrage d'infanterie

Location on German name French name Year built map (page 27)

I-Werk Chesny-Suden Ouvrage Chesny Sud 1907-11

M I-Werk Chesny-Norden Ouvrage Chesny Nord 1907-11

N I-Werk Belle-Croix Ouvrage Lauvallieres 1908-14

0 I-WerkMey Ouvrage Champagne 1907-12

P I-Werk Bois la Dame Ouvrage Bois la Dame 1912-14

Q I-Werk Marival Ouvrage Marival 1912-14

R Other minor works - St Hubert, Jussy Ouvrage St Hubert, Jussy Nord 1912-14

Norden and Sud en, Vaux Norden and Suden and Sud, Vaux Nord and Sud

Interval batteries

In 1907 a series of interval batteries were built to the south and west toprovide additional firepower and to command the lines of communicationsinto the position The guns were of 15cm calibre with a protected carriage

and sides of the gun carriage They could be mounted on a railway car, movedwhere they were needed and installed in about two hours on permanentplatforms The batteries included munitions storage shelters plus a smallcommand post and shelter for protection of the crew On the west bank, from

1907 to 1908, four batteries were built; on the east bank an additional fourwere built from 1907 to 1913

The positions during World War I

In 1914, Feste Luitpold and Feste Von der Goltz, and the infantry works ofHorimont, Amanvillers, Bois la Dame and Marival were incomplete Two

additionalFestenwere planned to the north

of Mey to close the ring, but they were notbuilt as this was not a dangerous zone Minorimprovements to the Festen continued afterthe war broke out

By 1916 the fortress consisted of eight

70 gun turrets (44x10cm and 26 x15cm),and 131 observation cupolas On the leftbank, the distance of the forts from the cityvaried from 8.5 to 10.6km On the rightbank it was 7.5 to 12km ThreeFesten anddozens of small shelters were built aroundThionville to extend the Moselstellung tothe north

Festenat Thionville (all German built)

(page 27)

Construction continued after the start of World War1.In 1916, after the

failed offensive at Verdun, a vast effort was undertaken in the southern

perimeter two kilometres south of the line Graf Von

Haeseler-Wagner-Luitpold to build hundreds of shelters and combat positions in order to

improve the continuity of the line and strengthen its defensive capabilities

These included concrete observation posts, machine-gun emplacements,

flanking machine-gun casemates, blockhouses, bombproof personnel shelters,

artillery batteries and special railway lines and military roads Trenches and

barbed wire further protected the main combat areas

Principal features of the defence

The major elements of the Festen were the infantry works with large

bombproof barracks, infantry strongpoints and armoured artillery batteries

In addition to the batteries and infantry works, there were small troop

assembly shelters, blockhouses, casemates, observation cupolas and sentry

posts A field of barbed wire surrounded each Feste.

The infantry works and strongpoints were technically 'forts within a fort'

All of the Festen had one or more infantry works For example, Feste

Lothringen had one infantry work and one strongpoint, plus two detached

infantry strongpoints Feste Kaiserin had two infantry works and two infantry

strongpoints Some were stand-alone, isolated infantry works without artillery

(Infanterie-Werk Bellecroix, Mey and Bois la Dame) There were different

types of principal infantry works, from simple raised ramparts with parapets

surrounded by wire and a fence

to the large works with a ditch

and counterscarp The simplest

works, infantry strongpoints, were

installed in the less dangerous

sectors and were cheaper to build

than the infantry works

The most important element of

the Festen was the armoured

battery The design of the batteries

was similar to the earlier, isolated

batteries The armoured batteries

were equipped with 10cm guns or

howitzers and 15cm howitzers

10cm batteries were laid out

in configurations of two, three or

four guns per battery, 15cm guns

in groups of three or four, spaced

20m apart (Feste Lothringen had

the only six-gun battery)

A rare example of a forward infantry shelter near the Moselle River north of Thionville Few shelters were

as beautifully ornamented as this one (Author's collection)

15

Infantry exits, and picket

shelter on the right, of the

western infantry works, Feste

Kaiserin This magnificent

photo shows the top of a

principal infantry work in its

pristine condition The photo

was taken around 1919 by

American engineers studying

the forts This photo appeared

in a New York Times pictorial

series (Association pour la

Decouverte de la Fortification

Messine)

The batteries were built entirely of concrete three metres thick on the roofand walls, 70cm on the rear wall The rooms inside the battery were on a singlelevel and served by two corridors, one each in the front and rear The combatcorridor in the rear gave access to the turrets, workshops for munitionspreparation, storage rooms, troop chambers, latrines and the command post.Munitions were stocked in the front corridor The entries in the gorge weredefended by a caponier at one end of the battery with embrasures for rifles and

a searchlight Wire and a spiked fence surrounded the entire complex.Observation positions were scattered throughout the fort Observers gavewarning of approaching enemy troops or the location of incoming artilleryand provided fire control for infantry and artillery commanders There wereseveral types of observation posts, from simple sentinel posts with a viewingslit, to more complex, rotating turrets with optical devices and flooring thatadjusted to the height of the observer In 1887 one of the first armouredobservation posts was installed at Fort Manstein Made of cast iron, severalsimilar models were installed in the earlier forts The Germans replaced thesewith a variety of fixed and rotating observation cupolas These appeared in the

armoured batteries in 1898 and later in the first Festen They were typically

placed on the high points of the batteries The cupola was formed of a singlepiece of 20-ton steel, thicker on the side facing the enemy The observationvisors could be closed off with metal shutters The observer sat on a rotating,height-adjustable seat and the upper compartment could be closed off withtrapdoors to prevent explosives from getting inside of the position

The Model 96 revolving observation turret was first placed in the twin21cm battery on Mont St Quentin, then in the 15cm batteries of the first line and

later in the Festen The roof was made of steel, 15cm thick, weighing 4,000kg,

and the interior had two levels The observer manned the observation chamber

on the top and a crewman in the lower level rotated the turret The observerdirected the rotation and the turret moved by slightly elevating it above theadvanced armour to eliminate any friction The floor could also be adjusted

to match the height of the observer The total ensemble weighed 70,000kg In

1905, the Model 05 was installed in Feste Leipzig, the Kellerman Works, FesteIllange and Feste Koenigsmaker at Thionville It was the same configuration asthe Model 96 but the interior space was larger It contained a telemetric deviceattached to a ring that could be rotated 360 degrees The horizontal angles forfire control were determined by an index on a fixed, graduated rule; verticalangles were measured by the longitudinal axis of the scope The observer sat on

a rotating seat attached to the centre of the ring There was a 60-degree anglebetween the embrasures and the observation field was 12 degrees

The observation cupolas also provided support for the infantry works.

The first type was installed on the picket shelters in 1897.They were built in

two pieces of steel and were laid out similarly to the models 96 and 05

Observation was by means of the naked eye or periscope

Small sentry shelters were installed in large numbers to survey the wire belts

and the infantry trenches The most prominent version resembled a snail shell

made of concrete or a double layer of zinc sheet metal with a bed of sand in

between The roof of the metal shelter was 5mm thick It was surrounded by

earth and offered sufficient protection against bullets, shrapnel and

smaller-calibre shells

Finally, to assure additional protection for the intervals, several of the forts

were equipped with flanking casemates for two7.7em guns These were placed

on the extremity of the infantry works and consisted of a firing chamber,

armoured observatory, command post at the foot of the observatory, electrical

projector to illuminate the intervals, munitions storage and an assembly room

for troops Seven such casemates were constructed: two at Kaiserin, and one

each at Marival, Wagner, Luitpold, Von der Goltz and Mey, plus four at the

Horimont position Five machine-gun casemates were built at Bois la Dame

(2), Marival (2) and Von der Goltz

TOUR OF THE SITES

When viewed from above, the Festen appeared as a series of rectangular

concrete blocks scattered across a large piece of ground, tied together by roads

and surrounded by a belt of wire entanglements Each block represented a

small, independent work, with its own access and defences By size, the largest

element was the infantry barracks, followed by the armoured battery, picket

shelter, blockhouse, infantry exit and, finally, sentry post

Infantry works

The infantry work (Infanterie- Werk, Infanterie Stutzpunkt, ouvrage

d'infanterie principal) was an independent element of the Feste It was preceded

on the front (towards the enemy) and sides by a gentle glacis that sloped up

from the surrounding countryside, obscuring the work from ground-level view

From the ground, the profile of the fort was minimal, except for armoured

observation cupolas jutting up from the slope The glacis was broken by a drop

ABOVE LEFT Early photo of 15cm howitzer turret at Feste Wagner The ravine visible in the background is the Mance Feste Kronprinz sits atop the hill to the left (Association pour la Decouverte de la Fortification Messine) ABOVE RIGHT

A revolving observation cupola above the barracks of the principal infantry works of Feste Kronprinz (Fort Driant).

On the inside, the lenses of a set of binoculars fitted into the two visors A manual device turned the turret (Author's collection)

17

II The Seille Trench casemate, Feste Wagner

of approximately two metres into a 20-30m-wide belt of

spikes interlaced with heavy wire that extended to the

right and left (at mobilization, barbed wire would added

to the top of the entanglement); this was studded with

small metal or concrete sentry posts

Across the wire the ground sloped steeply upward to an

infantry parapet The wire was under observation from the

parapet that ran the length of what is known in ancient

fortification terminology as the 'covered way', a pathway

running along the perimeter of the position outside of

the central redoubt Along the covered way was a small

blockhouse positioned on top of a larger casemate that

defended the ditch (see below) The rear fa~adeof the

blockhouse was made of concrete and an iron door opened

on to the covered way from the interior From the top of

the parapet of the covered way, the central part of the fort

was visible Behind the covered way was an imposing iron

palisade, 2.5m high, topped by pinpoint iron spikes bent at

the top in the direction of a potential enemy attack

Beyond this palisade was a vertical drop of five to

seven metres into a 10m-wide ditch that surrounded the

front and sides of the work A ditch always surrounded

the infantry works; some of the smaller infantry

strong-points had a ditch but most had only a belt of wire The outer wall of the ditch,

the counterscarp, was masked in concrete and the covered way and iron

palisade ran along the top SomeFestenhad galleries that ran along the interior

THE SEILLE TRENCH CASEMATE, FESTE WAGNER

ABOVE

Concrete infantry parapets at Feste Obergentringen A small bombproof personnel shelter lies behind the armoured door This was the most intricate of the concrete parapets in the Moselstellung (Gavin Saxby)

LEFT

The picket shelter of Werk Verny, Feste Wagner From the underground bombproof shelter the infantry quickly moved to the parapets above Note the concrete parapets and traverses to prevent enfilading fire (Dan McKenzie)

Infanterie-The casemate of the Seille Trench between Infanterie-Werk

Avigy and the Seille infantry position, Feste Wagner This

casemate provided flanking fire with 5.3cm rapid-fire guns in

two directions, down the hill to the Seille River, and along the

access road A - staircase from gallery to the casemate;

B - troop assembly room; C - exit door to ditch;

D - gun chamber for 5.3cm Krupp gun; E - munitions storage rack; F - gun embrasures; G - viewing embrasures;

H - searchlight embrasures; I - wire entanglement;

J - small ditch.

The counterscarp wall is to the

right, topped by a spiked iron

fence The escarp is to the left.

The flanking casemate for guns

and machine guns is in the

back corner The floor of the

ditch is covered with wire

to provide emergency protection from bombardment for the infantry Theshelters had metal doors to close off the entrance to the shelter

Directly below the central part of the parapet was the picket shelter withexits to the outside ramparts Staircases or ramps led up to the parapets.Typically, the rampart also had one or two small blockhouses with observationcupolas and infantry exits Most of the above elements were connected to themain part of the fort by underground passages, though some of the smallershelters were not connected to the tunnel network

Armoured observation cupolas, either fixed or rotating or a combination ofboth, were located on top of the small blockhouses, the roof of the barracks orthe picket shelter These were placed on the highest points of the infantry works.Some observation posts with armoured cupolas were located in advance of theinfantry works, wherever they could get the best views of the surroundings,and connected by underground tunnel (for example at Feste Wagner)

To the rear of and below the central rampart was

the barracks, the largest structure of the works It

varied in length and height The front wall facing

the enemy was built into the earth The rear wall

was open to the outside and faced away from the

enemy The gorge ditch ran parallel to the

outside-facing wall of the barracks The gorge ditch was a

continuation of the ditch on the front and sides but

had no wire entanglements Across the gorge ditch

from the barracks was an earthen embankment

topped by a third palisade In the centre of the

embankment was a gap where an access road ran

down towards the position The roadway was

defended either by a caponier in the centre of

the wall or at the end of the barracks, and/or by a detached blockhouse

The opening for the roadway was about five metres wide and steeply banked

on either side The roadway was blocked by another palisade with a gate for

vehicles and a smaller gate for troops

The barracks housed and supported a large portion of the garrison It was

a long building, typically with two floors and a basement There were a

number of entrances to the barracks located along the rear wall of the gorge

ditch During wartime all but two of these entries were closed off with metal

bars The wartime entry, located at either end of the barracks, was designed

in the form of a 'chicane' in which the entryway turned to the right or left

and the opening was guarded by a rifle embrasure and sealed off by a thick

armoured door

The layout of each of the barracks and armoured batteries was similar, yet

each had its own peculiarities Some of the barracks had two corridors, one

each running along the front and rear; the earliestFestenhad a front or rear

corridor only The hallway to the rear, which ran along the gorge ditch, was

called the 'peacetime corridor' since it didn't afford as much protection during

an attack as the hallway built against the earth, which also had a great

thickness of concrete There were a number of openings in the outer wall for

ventilation and light that could also be used in wartime as rifle embrasures

to defend against an attack on the barracks The larger openings could be

sealed off with metal bars dropped into grooves in the frame In time of

danger or alert the troops used the 'combat corridor' in the front part of the

barracks It was wider than the other corridor and there were no openings to

the outside The outer wall was built against the earth or the bedrock

The floor plan of the upper and lower levels was nearly identical and

consisted of a number of rooms that were used for different purposes The

floors, walls and ceiling were made of concrete and the ceiling was vaulted

from side to side and sloped slightly downwards from front to back (reason

unknown) The walls were painted white and some were decorated from1914

to 1918 with stencils or murals Most of the rooms were used as sleeping

quarters for the garrison At either end of the barracks, near the stairwells,

were the latrines The walls and ceilings of the corridors contained the

ventilation conduits and channels for the electrical cables Sinks for washing

were located at intervals along the corridor

Ventilation throughout the barracks was excellent Small electric motors

turned a turbine that drew air into the fort from armoured ventilation

The barracks of Infanterie-Werk Verny, Feste Wagner The gorge ditch was defended by 5.3cm guns in the central caponier jutting out from the face of the building (Author's collection)

21

The kitchen of Infanterie-Werk

Avigy, Feste Wagner, with three

steam pressure cookers and a

hot water heater on the left for

tea and coffee (Dan McKenzie)

Deutz diesel motor that

produced electricity for the

Moselstellung forts (this one is

at Feste Obergentringen) Note

the beautiful marble control

panel in the background.

(Gavin Saxby)

shafts located on the surface Theair was pumped throughout thebarracks and the adjacent shelters.Each room had a valve that could beopened manually to regulate airflow

In the event of a shutoff of power,manually operated pumps wereplaced along the walls to keep theair flowing

The kitchens were equipped withsteam cookers, hot water heaters fortea and coffee, and ovens for bakingbread Many of the dining rooms,decorated by the garrison troops, hadbeautiful paintings on the walls thatdepicted idyllic scenes of the outside world, unit insignia or mottos,inspirational sayings like: 'Wir wollen sein, ein einig Volk von Briidern' - Wewant to be a people, united as brothers - and other instructions and poemsabout beer drinking and eating Water, fuel and coal were stored in tanks inrooms in the basement of the barracks

Generators located in the power station provided electrical power Most

of these were located in the barrack structures, though Feste Von der Goltzhad a separate building for the motors

CUTAWAY OF A 15CM GUN BATTERY

A 15cm howitzer battery for three guns The howitzer battery

was situated on the back slope of the position so as to be

masked from enemy fire The direction of the enemy front

was to the left, and this would be considered the front side of

the battery, where the concrete was thicker The battery was

supplied with several peacetime entries along the rear wall to

the right These were blocked off in time of war and the angled

entry shown at the bottom right was used instead The door and

grille at the bottom led down a gallery underground to an adjacent position Each room served to support the fire mission

of the battery Munitions were stored in the hallway on the left, behind the thicker wall Munitions were prepared in the rooms between the three gun turrets The battery was provided with electric lighting, heat, hot water, latrines and ventilation The ground to the rear was defended by a spiked iron palisade and a small caponier for rifles and machine guns.

mCutaway of a 15cm gun battery

23

Name Guns Observation Sentry Barracks Men Tunnels Water Power of M - motor Size

in cubic metres

Lothringen 6 x 1Oem; 6 x 1Scm 14 24 2 1,400 600m 2,036 M - 4 x 35hp 0 - 4 x 19kw 385 Leipzig 2 x 10cm 6 12 3 360 270m 324 M - 3 x 20hp 0 - 3 x 13kw 80 Kaiserin 6 x 1Oem; 6 x 15cm 14 28 7 1,900 2,350m 4,570 M - 7 x 30hp0 - 7 x 19kw 131

4 x 77cm

Kronprinz 8 x 1Oem (with Moselle 16 29 6 1,810 l,500m 4,570 M - 5 x 35 hp* 0 - 5 x 23 kw 144

Battery); 6 x 15cm

St Blaise 4x 10cm;4x 15cm 10 12 500 1,300 M - 4 x 25hp 0 - 4 x 15kw 45 Sommy** 2 x 10cm 6 8 250 600 M - 3 x 20hp 0 - 3 x 13kw 30 Wagner 4 x 1Oem; 4 x 1Scm 15 51 4 1,250 1,950 2,200 M- 7 x 30hp 0 - 7 x 22kw 135

2 x 77cm

Prinz Regent

6 x 10cm; 2 x 77cm 8 20 2 560 1,700 2,640 M - 7 x 27hp 0 - 7 x 18kw 83 Luitpold

Von der

6 x 10cm; 2 x 77cm 13 20 3 800 2,000 860 M - 4 x 22hp 0 - 4 x 14.5kw 205 Goltz

*Additional2 x 12hp motors in Batterie Moselle adjacent to Feste Kronprinz

**Feste Graf Haeseler consists of two forts - St Blaise and Sommy Works

Tunnels

Tunnels led from the barracks to the other positions within the infantry worksand to the armoured batteries Access to the tunnels was defended by a series ofarmoured doors and grilles An armoured door was placed at the entrance toeach tunnel This normally opened outwards from the centre and had a smallloophole at eye level through which a sentry could see down the tunnel Severalmetres past the door was an iron grille This provided additional protection andprevented any enemies reaching the door unobserved Halfway down the tunnelwas a second armoured door At the opposite end was a grille and armoureddoor at the exit The tunnels were about 2.5m high and averaged about one to1.5m in width These tunnels were rectangular, with a vaulted or corrugatedceiling, or ovoid in shape, depending on the thickness of the earth above Theovoid shape absorbed shock better than the rectangular tunnels They were linedwith cables and pipes Conduits underneath the floor carried additional pipesand cables At either end of the tunnel was a small niche filled with explosives

to block the tunnel exit if an enemy gained access Smaller niches placed alongthe tunnels were used to hold petrol lamps if the electricity failed

The tunnels also connected many, but not all, of the forts' smaller positions,such as shelters, flanking batteries and observation posts Staircases or laddersled up from the tunnel floor to these positions Each of these positions had anassembly shelter where troops waited for orders to man their combat positions.The shelters were provided with metal bunks or with hooks for hammocks forsleeping They were provided with tables and benches for eating or for otheractivities to pass the time, and wooden platforms that hung from the ceiling tostore personal belongings The assembly shelters had latrines, ventilation andelectric lighting

Armoured batteries

The armoured battery was isolated from the infantry works as part of thedispersal concept It was surrounded by a wire entanglement and spikedpalisade A roadway led down an incline to the rear of the battery to the buildingentrance with a gate blocking the end of it Each battery had a defensive caponier

at one end for machine guns and rifles, as well as

a projector to illuminate the ground in the gor:ge

The battery was built on a single level Like the

barracks, two corridors traversed the length of the

battery: the combat corridor to the rear (facing

away from the enemy) and the corridor to the front

(on the enemy side) where the concrete was thicker

for added protection Each battery had a command

post for the officers, troop rest quarters, latrines, a

telephone switchboard and workrooms to prepare

and refurbish munitions

The most important feature of the armoured

battery was the gun turret The cylindrical turret

chamber was reached by a short staircase from the combat corridor The turret

had two levels, the lower level for raising the turret, quickly turning it, replacing

damaged gun barrels and moving munitions to the gun located in the chamber

on the upper level The gun barrel rested in grooves on the inside of the steel

carriage The base of the gun carriage was mounted on a steel column that passed

through the wooden floor of the top chamber and was anchored to a large screw

in the floor of the lower chamber The top of the gun carriage was bolted to

a curved cap made of 15cm-thick steel that formed the ceiling of the turret

The cap and the gun carriage rested on an outer circle of steel wedges that were

bolted together and embedded in the concrete surrounding the turret housing

(The French term for this steel collar is avant cuirasse or 'advanced armour'.)

The mechanisms for elevating the gun barrel to the correct firing angle,

and for rotating the turret to the correct azimuth, were located on the outer

partition of the gun carriage The turret could be rotated quickly using

wooden poles inserted into slots in the side of the gun carriage A metal band

marked with the degree coordinates was affixed at eye level to the inside of

the gun chamber and was used to determine the azimuth direction Once the

gun reached the approximate direction, a wheel on the left side of the gun

carriage was used for fine adjustments The barrel was raised by a large wheel

on the right side of the carriage and could also be adjusted to a precise angle

The lower chamber of the 10cm gun turret of Feste Wagner The counterweight in the centre of the column eased the raising and lowering of the gun in the chamber above The wheel

at the bottom of the column raised the entire turret off its forward armour collar (Dan McKenzie)

The gun chamber of the 1Oem turret of Feste Wagner The breech of the gun is visible

in the centre It rests in the gun carriage that is attached to the curved cap above That rests

on wedges of steel bolted together to form a protective JcollarJ around the turret (Dan McKenzie)

25

Munitions were assembled in workrooms next to each turret Fuses werecalibrated and screwed onto the projectile, silk bags containing powderwere placed inside the shell casing, and the pieces were assembled together.Spent shell casings were cleaned and recalibrated so they could be reused Theassembled shells were delivered to the gun chamber using a manual hoist, wherethey were stacked in racks placed on the inside surface of the turret chamber.

If an electrical power outage occurred, the crews used petrol lamps forlighting To reduce the possibility of fire in the munitions rooms caused by aflame from the lamps, they were placed behind glass plates in the wall,creating a barrier between the lamp and the powder

The Festen had small sentry posts positioned in strategic locations on the

fort's surface The most unique design was a shelter built in a spiral shape that

resembled a snail shell The French called these escargot, or 'snails' Some

were made of concrete and some were made of zinc sheet metal in two layers,with a bed of sand in between The small interior chamber had observationslits in the forward wall and sometimes in the roof

7

Floor plan of a 1Ocm armoured

gun battery.

A - gun turrets;

E(W) - wartime entry;

E(P) - peacetime entry;

Red - projectile storage;

Blue - munitions preparation

and assembly

A concrete 'snail' sentry post.

Many of these were built of

sheet metal and scattered

throughout the perimeter

defences of the Festen The

roof provided protection from

small-arms fire Note the visor

in the right foreground.

(Author's collection)

Map of the Moselstellung

N

@s, .

.

• Marieulles

The entry to the Festen had no postern, drawbridge or outer wall, and

simply consisted of a barricade guarded by sentries The access road

approached from the rear of the position

PRINCIPLES OF DEFENCE

Colonel Pierre Rocolle, former French officer and historian, in his excellent

treatise on fortifications, 2000 ans de fortification franfaise, describes the

German Feste system as having a 'double originality' in the evolution of

military engineering First of all, the German forts were built to support an

offensive strategy as a function of the future manoeuvre of the German Army

in an attack on France Secondly, unlike contemporary French forts that were

singular, compact units inside a clearly identifiable perimeter, the German

forts were spread out over the terrain to make them a more difficult target

The Moselstellung at Metz as it appeared upon its completion

in 1914 The city defended a vast network of roads, railway lines and river traffic It was a key element of the Schlieffen Plan to attack France through Belgium in August 1914 The keys to the numbers and letters are in the tables on pages 9, 12, 13,14and15.

Inset, the three Festen at

Thionville, the northern flank

of the Moselstellung The city commanded the lines of communication passing through it into the heart

of Germany.

27

In 1870, the German Army, still exuberant over the defeat of France,believed themselves too superior an offensive force to adopt a defensivestrategy The German high command planned to build two strong fortresses

at Strasbourg and Metz for bases of operation during any future conflict withFrance After their takeover of the fortress of Metz, the Germans built a newfort (Manstein) to the west of Fort Diou (Ostfort) on the Mont St Quentinplateau A series of gun batteries, shelters and infantry emplacements wereconstructed on the plateau between the two forts, connecting them together

to form an ensemble, or fortified zone The result was very different from theFrench design, i.e a polygonal fort surrounded by a ditch, and was giventhe nameFestein engineering nomenclature According to Rocolle, the Mont

St Quentin complex, named Feste Prinz Friedrich Karl, was nothing morethan a 'rough draft' of what would come later at Metz

From 1899, the new fortified works at Metz were a result of the adoption

of the new offensive strategy of the German Army (the Schlieffen Plan) andbecame the strongpoint on which those armies would pivot on their march intoBelgium and Luxembourg Metz become the base of operations for the GermanArmy's invasion of France through Belgium and Luxembourg, and thepowerful line of forts was expected to deter the French from attacking alongthe traditional invasion routes into Lorraine while the German Army wasmobilizing The strong positions at Metz and the Breuchstellung (Strasbourgand Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II) in Alsace would force the French to attack anarrow gap in between The secondary purpose of the fortifications of Metzwas to defend the railway communication lines through which the bulk ofGerman forces would pass on their way to the Western Front

Metz

Metz is strategically located along the Moselle River, 56km south of LuxembourgCity, and 48km from Nancy and Verdun to the south and west The hills alongthe river are steeply sloped from Frouard above Nancy to Ars-sur-Moselle, tenkilometres south of Metz, where the riverbank opens out into flatter terrain Thehills south of Metz reach heights of 380m On the left bank the escarpmentfollows the course of the river to Longeville-Ies-Metz The plateau of Mont StQuentin above Longeville commands the river approaches, along which themajor roads and railways run At Longeville the Moselle straightens out andturns due north to Thionville, where it turns once again to the east into Germany

On the right bank of the Moselle, south of Metz, the heights are lower thanthe left bank and flatten out north of the hill of St Blaise (360m) A series ofcrests run in an eastward direction from St Blaise south of the city then turnagain to the north toward the Moselle The city sits in a basin formed by theseheights Several small creeks and ravines cut through the heights on each bankand run down to the Moselle On the left bank, the most significant creeksare the Mance Ravine from Gravelotte to Ars, Chatel-Moulins from Chatel

St Germain to Moulins-Ies-Metz, and the Saulny-Woippy Ravine On the rightbank the main obstacle is the Seille River Numerous roads and railways ranthrough the ravines and valleys and needed to be defended by the forts.The heights of the west and east bank formed the perfect location from which

to command the entire valley

From 1896 to 1899, discussions took place regarding the role of theGerman defences There were two main schools of thought General von derGoltz, Inspector General of Fortifications, proposed a continuous defensiveline from Luxembourg to Strasbourg similar to the Sere de Rivieres Line

The opposing view came from Graf von Schlieffen, Chief of the General Staff.

Looking to a future attack on France through Belgium, he viewed the defences

as part of an offensive strategy, and proposed strengthening the fortified

position at Metz (and Thionville) for use as a pivot between advancing forces

in Belgium and a positional defence in Lorraine The Kaiser chose Schlieffen's

proposal, and the Moselstellung (Moselle Position) was developed

Thionville

A key element of the Moselstellung was the city of Thionville, about 30km to

the north along the Moselle River Thionville is located along the Moselle where

it meets the Fensch stream The river is bordered on the left by gradual slopes

up to 200m in height, leading west to the Lorraine Plateau On the right bank

the slopes are less considerable and rise to 60m Ravines cut through the slopes

on both banks of the river The Fensch flows through a major industrial region

that extends from the Moselle to the north-west Thionville was a major

industrial area at the end of the 19th century, with a population of about

14,000 It carried numerous important lines of communication, including

major rail and road lines from Germany and Luxembourg towards Metz

Thionville grew in importance along with the concept of theFestesystem

Due to the distance between Metz and the French border, it was possible Metz

could be outflanked to the north or south The fortifications needed to be

extended to prevent encirclement The decision had to be made whether to

place additional forts to the north or the south Thionville was selected as being

more advantageous The Germans could take advantage of the natural obstacle

of the Moselle to control the communication lines from the north By building

forts at Thionville, they could create a 40km front along the river Beginning

in 1899, threeFestenwere built around Thionville: Feste Guentringen, Feste

Koenigsmaker and Feste Illangen These were somewhat different from the

forts of the Metz: the surface area was smaller, artillery power was weaker and

the infantry positions were on a smaller scale as they did not have to defend

against the flatter terrain found on the plateaux at Metz

A Schumann turret at the Gruson Works at Magdeburg (National Archives and Record Administration)

29

o

OVERHEAD VIEW OF A FORTIFIED GROUP

Feste Wagner, between Feste Graf-Haeseler and Feste Prinz

Regent Luitpold, south of Metz This largeFeste defended the

beginning of a line of crests that ran from the Seille River in a

north-easterly arc around the south side of Metz It was the

closest fort to the French border The infantry strongpoint

of the Seille, on the left flank, was built at a later time It was discovered that that part of the crest blocked the view of the other works and also any enemy approach from that side The Seille Trench casemate defended the rear of the fort and the narrow defile from the river below.

An AEG electric searchlight The brightness could be controlled by adjusting the distance between two carbon rods through which an electric arc passed A mirror in the back

of the housing increased the brightness and the light could

be focused with a powerful lens (Author's collection)

Infantry exit of the Seille infantry position, Feste Wagner The infantry parapets are above (Author's collection)

A 15cm howitzer turret.

Note how it is raised

several centimetres above

the surrounding armour

(embedded below the

concrete) This reduced

friction so the turret could

revolve more freely.

(Author's collection)

Armoured batteries

In the 1880s, all the fortifications were in danger of becoming obsolete owing

to the advances in artillery, and open batteries were extremely vulnerable todestruction Existing fortifications could no longer give the batteries sufficientoverhead protection to permit them to survive against artillery combat

with mobile field artillery Major Schumann, in his treatise Die Bedeutung

drehbarer Geschutzpanzer "Panzerlaffeten", written at the Krupp provinggrounds at Magdeburg in 1884, proposed the use of armoured batteries withsteel turrets to protect the guns and crew

A radical reform of permanent fortifications was needed Schumannargued that the way to obtain the desired results was the employment of guns

in rotating armoured turrets in place of fixed guns behind ramparts Not onlywould the turreted guns be protected on all sides, but also directly overhead

Agun mounted inside a revolving turret has a 360-degree field of fire and isexposed only to direct hits on the gun's barrel The field of fire of a turret-mounted gun is four times that of a conventional gun with a field of fire ofonly 90 degrees and no overhead protection

The most significant and novel concept of the Feste was the separation of

the elements of long-range artillery combat from the defence against infantryattack This dispersion created multiple targets, each target with a smallerdimension, vastly more difficult to neutralize than the previous fixed fortressartillery designs (For example, in the Brialmont forts of Liege and Namur, all

of the guns were massed together in a central block, making them an easytarget) This was a revolutionary concept and the Germans called it the

Panzergruppe, later changed to Festen.

The Festen were equipped with

howitzers for angled and indirectfire (in other words, the projectileswere fired in an arced trajectory

to reach targets that were hidden

in ravines or behind an obstacle).Guns (not to be confused withhowitzers) were used for direct fire.The main role of the gun would

be to hit the enemy at the greatestdistance from the fort Howitzershad a more powerful chargeand a longer range than mortars,were more precise and could fireshrapnel projectiles that raineddown deadly fragments on theexposed enemy troops